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Busy schedule continues for Mustangs baseball

Mustangs go 2-1 before weekend

Fort Morgan sophomore Trey McBride (11) had six RBI's in two games with Vista PEAK on Thursday at Legion Field. (Courtesy Photo / OTSportsChek)

Mustangs schedule for week

Monday: vs. Longmont, 4 p.m.

Wednesday: vs. Weld Central, 4 p.m.

Friday: @ Weld Central, 4 p.m.

Radio: 1400 KFTM

Conditions looked promising on Wednesday morning for the Mustangs to play their rare double-header against two schools until some rain fell around the lunch hour and did enough to postpone the games. That left Fort Morgan scrambling to get three games scheduled.

Finally, a decision was made, and the weather cooperated to allow the Mustangs to play a double-header with Vista PEAK on Thursday and host Erie on Friday.

Vista PEAK, game 1

Behind a gem of a performance on the mound from senior Kyle Daniels, the Mustangs took care of business to win 10-0 over the Bison and get Thursday's double-header started off nicely.

Daniels went all six innings of the game and allowed just one hit to the Bison. He pitched to contact and utilized his defense behind him, but he also tallied four strikeouts in the shutout performance.

Fort Morgan scored little by little in each inning towards the 10-run limit to get the win. In the bottom sixth, sophomore Trey McBride walked it off with a three-run home run to wrap up the win early.

McBride led with three RBI's and juniors Adrian Marquez and Nate Kage each drove in two. 10 Mustangs' hits from seven players had the lineup steady from top to bottom in the win.

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Vista PEAK, game 2

Before the series of games last week, head coach Josh Langford said it was crucial for the Mustangs to score runs to try and help the cause with the busy slate. In the second game with Vista PEAK, the Mustangs offense came to life in a big way, scoring 21 runs and getting another shutout for a 21-0 win in five innings.

Most of the damage came from the bats of the Mustangs as they finished the game with 16 base hits. 10 batters came to plate and picked up at least one hit in the win. Fort Morgan was also aided by six errors from the Bison, which the Mustangs made them pay for.

Fort Morgan senior Kenny Keller gets under a fly ball in left field during a game with Vista PEAK. (Courtesy Photo / OTSportsChek)

Eight runs in the second inning gave Fort Morgan an 11-run lead and the offense continued to pile on the scoring with six runs in the third, three in the fourth, and a bonus run in the fifth.

McBride, Kage, and senior Kenny Keller each had three runs driven in to lead the team. Marquez, junior Joe Holbeck, and seniors Jacob Fritzler and Kaleb Bell each had two RBI's. Senior Jason Wiges picked up the win on the hill with five shutout innings, giving up just three hits and striking out five.

Erie

Offense was the theme in both games with Vista PEAK on Thursday, but defense and pitching were the focal points in a nonconference game on Friday with the Erie Tigers. Both teams had to manufacture runs in the game, and it was Erie who did just enough to get the 4-2 win at Legion Field.

Fort Morgan scored all two runs they put on the board in the bottom first to take a 2-1 lead. After the inning, the Mustangs struggled to get base runners and find a consistent approach at the plate.

Erie tied the game in the fourth inning with a run and took the 4-2 lead in the seventh with two runs coming home in the top half of the inning. The momentum carried over in the bottom half as the Tigers got the final three outs to secure the win.

Fritzler had the lone RBI in the game for the Mustangs at the plate. McBride and junior Austin Breidenbach each scored a run on the base paths. Junior Trevor Shurtleff got the start and went 6.1 innings for the Mustangs, allowing 11 hits and four runs while getting five strikeouts. Kage finished the seventh inning and did not allow a run.

Up next

Fort Morgan entered the weekend with a 12-4 record overall and 11-1 mark in the Colorado 7 League after the three games with Vista PEAK and Erie. While the Mustangs got out of the busy schedule to end last week, another busy schedule will come up this week for the team with three games in five days.

Up first will be Longmont from the Northern league in a nonconference game at Legion Field. The Trojans are 7-4 and coming off a game with rival Niwot over the weekend. After the last nonconference game of the season, Fort Morgan will play two conference games with Weld Central, getting the home game on Wednesday and travelling to Keensburg on Friday.

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